


calls my name and gently conquers the storm

by foxmulder_whereartthou



Category: Caduceus | Trauma Center Series, Trauma Team
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Flowers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, also this fandom has such a lack of erhard fics :( time to write them myself :), because goddamnit he deserved to, this is just erhard visiting the flower field
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmulder_whereartthou/pseuds/foxmulder_whereartthou
Summary: It's been a while, to say the least, since the Rosalia Virus outbreak.Erhard figures it's finally time to go visit his sister's final resting place.Hank tags along too, for moral support. (and because Erhard just keeps collecting dads like damn, where u getting all these dads?? i want some)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	calls my name and gently conquers the storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hecksalmonids](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hecksalmonids/gifts).



“Kid, you ready?” 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

When Erhard had told the others he was going to visit his sister’s garden, the last thing he had expected were comforting smiles, and offers to come for emotional support.    
Hank was a great, hulking figure who seemed to radiate warmth and friendliness, and when he offered, Erhard didn’t hesitate in accepting. 

When they arrived, the storm that had been chasing them all the way there had finally let up, and the fresh, earthy scent of rain on a field of flowers rose into the air. 

\---    
  


After walking down the beaten paths, weaving through the hills and valleys, the two of them were finally at the edge of everything, looking down upon Rosalia and Albert’s former home, bathed in the light of the post-rain sun, each petal of each flower sparkling with dew.   
  


"So..." he says, a half-whisper, reaching up to cover his mouth with his hands, "She... she died here?" 

Hank could feel his heart breaking. This kid was still so young - and he had been younger still when the initial event had happened, when he had been left alone without a single person on his side - or even the solace of a comforting memory. 

"It's so beautiful." Erhard chokes back a sob, kneeling down and burying his hands in the sea of blossoms, his fingertips ghosting over leaves and petals and lush, green grass. "She must've been so happy here." There are tears in his eyes, tears that he knows won’t freeze when they fall, and he lets himself cry, for what feels like the first time since his trial.

In all his time locked up, he’d forgotten what it had felt like to let  _ go,  _ to allow himself to shake and sob and have someone lay a large, warm hand on his shoulder. The meadow is filled with so many stories, so many colours and shapes and sounds that lilt and sway on the breeze, and Erhard and Hank are only two of them.

“Do you think-” he starts, his voice grating, “Do you think she enjoyed her days here?”    
He swallows, a burning sensation against his throat, and turns back to meet Hank’s eyes, to try and regain his courage. “Do you think she missed me?”

Crouched among the grass and the flowers like this, framed by poppies and pansies, Erhard almost looks like a child, and Hank can picture his photo from the trial, all round, soft cheeks and an eternal scared look in his eyes. Hank can imagine Erhard smiling like Roselia had, wandering through the field of flowers with his father and his sister, how it should’ve been.

But Hank should know - nothing ever goes according to plan. 

“Of course she did - if anything was more obvious, it’s that. I heard the recordings too.”

* * *

RONI had been playing some humorous recordings from her database to cheer them all up (but mostly to annoy Dr Cunningham), but she hadn’t meant to play that one. She hadn’t meant to make all heads in the room snap towards Erhard, and then Maria, and back again.

It was so strange to hear her voice outside of a memory - at first he was sure he had been hallucinating. In the end, it was Dr. Kimishima who had to explain everything to him.    
He should’ve  _ known,  _ he should’ve been  _ told _ what happened to her; he loved her too, you know.

Something deep within him, something angry and spiteful and harsh, the same thing that wanted so desperately to never forgive Albert Satre, told him to hate Naomi, to resent her for not showing him that recording. He couldn’t, he thought, of course he couldn’t. 

* * *

“Thanks for…” Erhard looked down at his feet, swamped in wildflowers still stubbornly standing after he’d knelt down amidst them, “coming here with me.” He laughed, an awkward, nervous sound, and turned back to Hank, who still had a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think I’d’ve had the guts to visit this place otherwise.”

“My pleasure, kid,” Hank said, holding back the emotion in his voice, “I’m glad I could be here for you.”

“Let’s…” subconsciously shivering a little, Erhard paused, looking over the horizon, pondering his words, “Can we stay here for a while more? I’d like to… I’d like to watch the clouds go by, if that’s okay.”   
“I don’t mind, we’re here for you, after all. Take as much time as you need.”

No matter how long they stayed - or how long they were gone - they knew the flowers wouldn’t just disappear, no. Rosalia had looked after them too well, had loved them too much, for that to happen.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic for trauma team !! i just finished the game and i absolutely adore it, and since it's my first time writing for these characters i would really appreciate some feedback !!
> 
> thanks for reading, ily all !!! <333


End file.
